An Andy Williams Interview Arranger profile of Eddie Durham ...

An Andy Williams Interview

Arranger profile of

Eddie Durham

Review of new

Krall Album

Connick set for PBS program

B IGB A N DJ IM P N EWSLETTER

VOLUME 143

INTERVIEW- ANDY WILLIAMSThe first reports o f singer Andy William ’s death at age 84 on 25 September brought a minor dilemma to us here at the BBJNEWSLETTER. He was too important a musical personality to briefly mention in a quickie report. Then we discovered w e’d done a short interview with Andy Williams from his Branson, Missouri home near his “Andy Williams Moon River Theater. ” The interview had not appeared in prior editions o f this newsletter and had been used only briefly on the air, so we dug into the archives and found it. It was a short interview, so we combine it with the following Andy William's profile, reviewing his professional life and then with his own words getting a sense o f the man himself

The Background

The first many of us were aware of Andy Williams was as part of the Williams Brothers Quartet when they appearedonthe 1943 Bing Crosby recording of SWINGING ON A STAR, but the quartet had been active since 1938. The Williams Brothers had been singing on radio station WHO in Des Moines, then WLS in Chicago and WLW in Cincinnati. It was when they moved to Los Angeles they became nationally know, first through the Crosby recording and then through a night club act with Kay Thompson, setting attendance records wherever they appeared.

It turned out Kay Thompson had a lot to do with Andy Williams’ early success. She’s the one whose influence helped him get a singing spot on the Steve Allen Tonight Show and a contract with Cadence Records. She coached him in his summer stock role in “Pal Joey” and in the three summer replacement shows Andy did on network TV in 1957,’58 and’59. Kay Thompson’s professional association with Andy Williams ended in 1962 when Kay moved to Rome and Andy married Claudine Longet.

The decade of the ‘60s was Andy Williams’ decade, as he served to connect what was left of the Big Band Era with the sometimes strange novelty vocals that

Andy on TV in ‘60s

appeared in the fifties preceding rock, but during it all Andy Williams stayed in touch with a quality of song represented by such recordings as MOON RIVER, CANADIAN SUNSET, DAYS OF WINE & ROSES, THE SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE and a series of Christmas albums maintaining his popularity through the sixties and into the seventies. His Christmas television program each year and eight Christmas albums maintained his popularity, leading to establishment of his theater in Branson, Missouri.

In 1991 older brother Don Williams invited Andy to visit Branson, Missouri where Don was managing the career of entertainer Ray Stevens who had just opened a theater in Branson. Andy moved to Branson, built his own twelve million dollar 2,000 seat state-of-the-art theater which opened in 1992. As mentioned in the following interview, the ANDY WILLIAMS MOON RIVER THEATER is the only theater ever featured in “Architectural Digest.”

BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER- DECEMBER, 201 2

VOLUME 143 BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 2012

The Scene

It was morning when we phoned Andy Williams for the brief interview which follows. We apologized for calling so early and that kicked off the question and answer session:

BBJ: We’re suiprised you’re up so early.

AW: I get up early. I get up around six or 5:30 everymorning because I like the mornings better than

the night.

BBJ: It all started with the Williams Brothers.

AW: Yeah, it did. I was a kid...like most of thefamily groups it starts when they’re little. My

three brothers and 1 had a quartet and we did radio for years and years and years, growing up, and then eventually we moved to California and did some movies and then we got into an act with Kay Thompson. We did that for a while, and then that act finally broke up and my brothers wanted to do other things, so I decided to give it a shot, went to New York and eventually got on the Steve Allen Tonight Show and that’s the way my career really got started.

BBJ: There was a Bing Crosby recording with theWilliams Brothers.

AW: That’s right. I was about fourteen years old and we’d just gone to California and Bing Crosby

had made a movie and SWINGING ON A STAR was in the movie and he had done it with a Catholic boy’s choir. The choir wasn’t available to make a record of it and John Scott Trotter who was Bing’s arranger and conductor said the Williams Brothers are in town and they’re great. Bing said, “Let’s go with them.” That’s the way that happened.

BBJ: After you became a single performer, was there any bad feeling with the rest of the family?

AW: Oh, no. None at all. I wasn’t the reason we broke up. I was the youngest and they all

wanted to do other things. My older brother Bob, who by that time had three children just wanted to get out of the business. He wanted to go into the real estate business. My brother Don wanted to be an actor and so

he went to Columbia Pictures, then to acting school and eventually wound up being an agent at MCA, and later on became a manager. My brother Dick wanted to sing with a Big Band so he went with the Harry James Band for about two years and then he also sang on the Tennessee Ernie Ford television show that went on in the daytime. By that time I was singing on the Steve Allen Show at night in New York. We’re very close.

BBJ: Was the Steve Allen Show your first television exposure?

AW: I’d done other television before that but that was the one that got me really started. I was on

that show for two and a half years and I alternated with Steve Lawrence. I’d be on three nights one week and two nights the next. I’d alternate with Steve. Doing that for two and a half years I learned a great deal. 1 learned how to work to the camera when you wanted to and leave it alone at other times. I learned a lot about television while I was on that show, so it came in very handy later on.

BBJ: Tell us about your theater in Branson.

AW: It’s called “The Andy Williams Moon River Theater” and it’s the most beautiful theater

I’ve ever seen. It really is gorgeous. The only theater, by the way that was ever featured in “Architectural Digest.”

BBJ: Who designed it?

AW: It was designed by me and we had an architect who had a lot to do with it. The manager of the

theater at that time had a lot to do with the construction of the stage and backstage and a lot to do with the theater because he’d built a theater before and he knew what was necessary, and I had no idea about any of the technical things that a theater required. What I did know was what I wanted it to look like and what I wanted to accomplish with the theater. I got that across to the architect and he built it on three levels, three different lobbies, and the high ceilings so you can hang art in it. I wanted it to become a kind of an art gallery and theater at the same time. It really is beautiful.

BBJ: How do you work the accompaniment at the theater?

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Post-sixties Andy

AW: We have a Big Band and I use a lot of singers.

BBJ: How many shows do you do weekly?

AW: When we do the Christmas Show in Novemberand December we do twelve shows a week and

for a few weeks we do fourteen shows.

BBJ: Isn’t that tremendously wearing for you?

AW: Yeah, it is. That’s the reason I only do three anda half months now, rather than nine months.

BBJ: Where do you hang out when you’re not in Branson?

AW: We stay a lot here in Branson. We built a lovely house here on the lake and I love it. We have

three dogs and they have a lot of room to run and play and that’s good. The rest of the time I spend in Palm Springs, California.

Often the post-interview comments after the recorder is over are just as interesting as the more formal answers. It was only in casual conversation Andy Williams told us how much more interesting the ‘live ’ programs were compared to studio recordings, even when the studio work involved a larger orchestra, time fo r re-lakes and precise technical work. All this was revealed, he said, when his son suggested he release a recording o f some o f his ‘live ’ Branson performances over the years. Andy said he was surprised how interesting the ‘live 'performances were.

Even though his most important decade was the sixties, his style and his accompaniment harkened back to the Big Band days, and he'll be missed.

DK

LETTERS TO THE EDITO R

Letters to BIG BAND JUMP or the BBJ NEWSLETTER may be sent to the address below or e-mailed to [email protected]. When you e-mail, please give your name anil address. All letters are answered, but the volume o f mail sometimes delays a timely response.

BBJ NEWSLETTER Box 52252

Atlanta, GA 30355

The published letters have been editedfor space considerations, but the meaning has been preserved.

Frederik Komen Letting you know I had a mar-The Netherlands velous afternoon due to the

fantastic programmes of Pete King and Don Kennedy. Actually in Holland we are suffering from a tropical temperature of about 30 to 34 degrees Celsius. (About 86 to 93 Fahrenheit.) We are not used to these temperatures. Let the shows go on.

Mr. Komen is hearing BBJ, the Don Kennedy Show and Pete K ing’s British program on the internet station named: thegenemartinshow.com which broadcasts Adult Standards 24 hours a

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mailto:[email protected]


day, The internet station was started because the terrestrial station in the Ocala, Florida area broadcasting Gene’s morning program and BBJ switched to the talk format.

Patricia Aswad CooperAurora, Colorado

My son put my Bose radio on KEZW. I was listening to Big Band Jump on Sunday when to my surprise and delight I heard my husband Stuart Foster singing! I also heard myself and my sisters, being the Kim Loo Sisters. Don Kennedy also said Stuart Foster married one of the Kim Loo Sisters. That’s me. What a thrill to hear my husband and myself on your wonderful station.

This e-mail was sent to Rick Crandall, the manager o f KEZW in Denver, one o f the nation’s outstanding radio stations which has broadcast BBJ fo r nearly two decades. The BBJ program that week mentioned bandleader Ina Ray Hutton fo r whom Stuart Foster and the Kim Loo Sisters sang. During the forties the media referred to them as “The Chinese Andrews Sisters. ”

Warren Ehn 1 love listening to BBJ onArlington, Texas KAAM Radio in Dallas/Fort

Worth, Texas. 1 am 52 years old and got hooked on the Big Bands listening to my grandfather’s old 78 records when my brother and I would visit him in Chickasha, Oklahoma during the 1960s and ‘70s. My wife says I’m an old soul trapped in a young body!

Maybe Mr. Ehn is a selective soul in a young body. (Sorry, couldn ’t suppress that comment.)

Cathy Rubin I grew up listening toDenver, Colorado Frank Sinatra, Ella

Fitzgerald and all. My sister and I know the words to eveiy Sinatra song. The first concert I went to with my mother was Count Basie. I love the Big Band sound. I’m glad I found you guys.

Robert Sulaski We listen to Big Band JumpEdwards, Illinois every week on the computer.

As 1 listen free 1 always feel embarrassed that we’re not supporting your great show in some manner. We have a satellite radio and can listen to Big Band music 24/7 if 1 choose but what makes your program so much more entertaining are the background stories you provide about the bands. Thanks for the many hours of Big Band enjoyment you have provided us.

BIG BAND JUMP was a twice a week feature o f XM Satellite Radio fo r three years, supplied at no cost to them. When Sirius took over in the merger o f the two satellite companies, BBJ was cancelled. The reason given was Sirius wanted all its programming to originate in New York City. Despite a flurry o f letters and e-mails to Sirius from disappointed BBJ satellite listeners, the cancellation was permanent in favor o f any announced programs originating in Manhattan. I f you detect some bitterness here, you ’re correct.

Russell & Sarabeth Cash I know you probably Atlanta, GA get a lot of e-mail but

I wanted to briefly let you know that my wife and I enjoy your program every Sunday. We are in our late twenties and your extensive knowledge of music helps us fill in what we missed. Thank you again for your dedication to this program.

This is the third positive e-mail w e’ve received from twenty year olds or younger in the past week, plus two e-mails from listeners in their fifties. Would that such a trend would continue and gain momentum!

Dave Drum I stumbled upon your BBJSpringfield, IL show on WLDS whilst on my

way to Iowa. I listened until they faded into static and I had to settle for Westwood’s “Oldies Super Station.” Since then I’ve been entertaining myself with both shows on-line. I do enjoy your efforts. 1 have turned many friends onto your web site. I’m sure they’ll listen and spread the word.

I am in Springfield, Illinois, home to Barret Deems (the world’s fastest drummer), last home base for Jack Teagarden, and birthplace of June Christy.


Businesslike Christy

Kay Lee In your September-October,San Jose, CA 2012 “Upcoming BBJ Pro

gram Titles” you list the September 16th program as MATINEE MUSIC. Station KCSM out of San Mateo aired the BBJ program SPOTLIGHT BANDS. This prompts the question as to whether the stations that broadcast BBJ pay any attention to your published schedule or do they play the programs virtually willy-nilly. KCSM-FM rarely broadcasts the BBJ programs listed in the newsletter on the dates indicated. May I add, please continue your BBJ broadcasts and NEVER stop! (Writer’s caps and punctuation.)

There was no return address on Ms. or Mr. L ee’s letter, and she or he is not a newsletter subscriber under that name so we must answer here. The program title listing in this newsletter refers to the two hour BBJ program heard on 103 radio stations across the nation, in Canada, Australia and England. There is a non-commercial one hour version o f B B J’s heard on just a few public broadcast stations, among them San M ateo’s KCSM. They are, indeed, planned and scheduled but not listed in this newsletter because most newsletter readers listen to one o f the 103 stations. To list the public broadcast schedule would, we suspect, simply confuse the greater percentage o f listeners to the two hour program and a

vastly smaller percentage o f public broadcast listeners who also subscribe to the newsletter. The following letter also had no return address and the name o f the writer did not appear in our subscription list. Both letters were postmarked “Oakland. ”

Louis Zastowpil I found it rather peculiar that Forrest Knolls, CA in a publication dedicated to

the “Big Band Era” in the September/October issue there is an entry under “Quickie Reports” about the death of Bob Welch who is identified as “a guitarist with the Fleetwood Mac group in the early ‘70s.” My goodness, did the Big Band Era extend all the way into the 1970s? 1 thought it “died” some time in the 1950s. It is also very puzzling, and rather disturbing, that you would completely ignore the demise of Georgia Carroll, a vocalist with the Kay Kyser band, but saw tit to print the “news” that an obscure rock ‘n’ roll guitar player had died. May 1 respectfully inquire where your “priorities” lie?

Yeah, that was a kinda ’ dumb item to put in the Quickie News. It was our lame attempt to point out the instability o f rock performers who take their own lives at relatively young ages. We look upon the Quickies as covering radio, the recording business and other fields allied to music and entertainment. This might be a good time to remind readers that in our view the Big Band Era never ended. O f course the preponderance o f such well-performed Big Band and small group music was performed in the later ‘30s, the AOs and into the fifties, but it was the listeners who changed, not the quality o f the bands. Some o f what we play on the radio is from the Era fo r that’s where most o f the outstanding performances come from, but the program is meant to be style- based, not calendar-based, even though a single or even a series o f programs would seem to belie that.

We noted the death o f Georgia Carroll on page ten in the March-April, 2011 issue o f the newsletter. The writer will never believe this but long before his letter came we set up the “Back Page Pretty Singer ” in this issue to be Georgia Carroll. She was also the participant in a fu ll BBJ program about Kay Kyser along with comments from Kay's daughter Kimberly and Kay himself.

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ARRANGER P R O F IL E -E D D IE DURHAM

E d d i e Durham may be oneof the l e a s t k n o w n but most im p o r tant contributors to music developments in Jazz history. He arranged and composed so

________Guitarist Eddie Durham______ m a n yprominent numbers for Count Basie, Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, Jimmie Lunceford, Bennie Moton and Jan Savitt as well as being a pioneer in the use of jazz electric guitar a year before Charlie Christian became known for making the same contribution. Not only was his composing and arranging ability displayed frequently in the Big Band Era, but his trombone was featured in recordings, often anonymously. It would not be a stretch to say Durham was influential in the Big Band scene from the earliest days.

According to Durham’s own recollection he became interested in music in 19 16 at age ten, eventually performing in the Durham Brothers Orchestra, his career lasted well into the seventies. It was natural Eddie would take up music, for his father played the fiddle and his brothers organized the Durham Brothers Band, eventually including the young Eddie who played guitar and trombone with the band. As so often occurred with family bands, they played local dances, but Eddie’s significant music education came when he joined the “ I0l Ranch Show,” a wild west extravaganza where he played in a fifty piece allblack band and a nine piece band as backing to a minstrel show. When the “ 101 Ranch Show” got to Chicago, Eddie Durham’s life changed.

Chicago and Kansas City were centers of Midwest

territory bands. Eddie played in a number of such bands, notably Andy Kirk’s Twelve Clouds of Joy and as his reputation as a player and arranger grew, in 1928 he joined Walter Page’s Blue Devils, a band virtually absorbed into Benny Moten’s Kansas City aggregation by 1929. His first recorded arrangement, in conjunction with Moten’s pianist Bill Basie, was the now famous MOTEN SWING, released in 1932. As his reputation grew, Eddie Durham moved from Kansas City to New York. He played and arranged for Cab Callaway in 1935, then worked for Jimmie Lunceford from late 1935 until 1937. LUNCEFORD SPECIAL and BLUES IN THE GROOVE are two examples of that Lunceford association. In late 1937 he was offered a one year contract to work for his old Moten band-mate, the then rapidly rising Count Basie Orchestra. SWINGING THE BLUES, TOPSY and JUMPIN’ AT THE WOODSIDE are a few of the results of that Basie association.

In the late thirties Eddie Durham free-lanced, arranging

Trombonist Eddie Durham

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for Artie Shaw and Glenn Miller, among others. He is credited with his part in helping to arrange Miller’s most enduring hit, IN THE MOOD, and influencing the “show” numbers when the Miller band waves their horns and displays their derby mutes during a performance, first seen in the earlier bands with which Durham was associated.

His behind the scenes influence of Big Band performance and style has been without question even though his name has never risen to the level of others. His Big Band leadership occurred periodically when he fronted his own band briefly in 1940 and during 1941— 1943 as musical director of the “Sweethearts of Rhythm” followed by an all-girl band. In the late sixties he returned to playing with Buddy Tate and the “Harlem Blues and Jazz Band.” He died in 1987 at age 80, leaving behind a rich musical legacy.

SIDELIGHTSHumorous views of and about musicians

Frank Sinatra had certain words and phrases that entered the lexicon of music, the words presumably used by ‘hip’ members of the in-

_____ crowd. BeforeSinatra, though, there was Cab Calloway, the star leader of his band at the Cotton Club who coined words for various instruments that, at least in theory, only the initiated could understand. These years later some may be familiar to you encouraging humorous thoughts of a simpler time.

The wild Cab

Cab Calloway Jive Talk

Guitar - Belly-Fiddle Bass - Doghouse Drums - Suitcase or Skins Sax - Plumbing Violin - Squeakbox T uba- Fog Horn

Meantime here are a few other descriptive words with definitions attached.

Barbeque - (noun) - the girlfriend Boot - (as a verb) - to give. “Boot me that book.” Chime - (noun) - the time. “It’s six chimes.” Hincty - (adjective) - conceited or snooty. Orchestration - (noun) - an overcoat.Twister to the slammer - (noun) - key to the door

Buddy Rich wasplaying at his n a m e s a k e “Buddy’s Place” club in New York City when his friend Mel Torme told him he was coming to hear his last set one night.Torme recalls:“When we arrived the place was jammed. Rich played a knockdown drag-out set that left everyone breathless. When the cheering subsided, Buddy Rich introduced Mel Torme. 'He’s a good friend and I’m flattered he came here tonight.' I smiled and stood up. There was perfect silence. I looked at them and they looked at me and then the audience burst out laughing, followed by wild applause. He’d set it up beforehand, of course. It was a great gag.”

Eddie Thompson was trying to play a set in a very noisy night club. The roar of conversation made the piano nearly inaudible. A few customers down front were trying to hear the music. One of them stood up and loudly went: “SHHHHHH!”From the piano Eddie said, “I’m sorry. I’m playing as quietly as I can.”

Listen to BIG BAND JUMP or The DON KENNEDY SHOW

on demand at www.bigbandjump.com

Just click on the "Listen" button at the top of the home page.

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http://www.bigbandjump.com


BIG BAND TR IV IA Q UIZThis issue’s Big Band Trivia Quiz is based on informa

tion written in previous BBJ NEWSLETTERS. As such it’s more a reading comprehension than a listening quiz as in most other issues. The rules are, of course, that you cannot refer to previous issues. The answers should come directly from your memory, hopefully a permanent part of your mental information file.

Tobe as fair as possible, and not strain your memory cells too much, the questions will be confined only to information published in the newsletter this calendar year, which includes five issues, excluding of course, this issue. To ease into this concept we begin with a random fact revealed in the most recent past issue, the September- October, 2012 issue number 142, grabbing a fact off the frontpage. Best of luck!

1 Where does singer Peggy King now live?

A - Hollywood B - Philadelphia C - New Jersey D - Cleveland

2 Singer Marlene VerPlanck lives in:

A - Hollywood B - Philadelphia C - New Jersey D - Cleveland

3 Record producer Tommy LiPuma, known for his work with Diana Krall and Paul McCartney, began his life in:

A — Hollywood B - Philadelphia C — New Jersey D - Cleveland

4 Composer/arranger/conductor Benny Carter was known among musicians by the title:

A - The Prince B - His Excellency C - Ben-Boy D - The King

5 Arranger/composer/leader/sax man Ernie Wilkins died in:

A- England B-Denmark C-Cleveland D -N ew York

6 Esteemed arranger Fletcher Henderson was bom in:

A - Cuthbert, GA B - Pittsburgh, PA C - Ravenna, OH D - Paramus, NJ

7 Drummer Butch Miles was inducted into which state’s Hall of Fame?

A - Pennsylvania B - Idaho C - West Virginia D - California

8 Harry James’ first wife was:

A - Helen Ward B - Virginia O’Brien C - Louise Tobin D - Betty Grable

9 Current leader of the official Glenn Miller Orchestra is:

A - Larry O’Brien B - Nick Hilscher C - Buddy DeFranco D - Bill Pyree

10 NARAS, the organization giving out Grammys each year was the idea of:

A - Tommy Dorsey B - Mel Torme C - Paul Whiteman D - Sonny Burke

It turned out most of the questions concerned names and locations, often distilled from information on the front page of an issue. Some might have been ridiculously easy, others too obscure, but with such a mix of questions you might expect to answer as many as eight correctly. Six or seven is OK but less than five would indicate our lack of abi 1 ity to write facts in a cogent way. Best of luck, however difficult the questions strike you. As always, answers are on page twelve but we implore you not to refer to them until you’ve exhausted all other means of coming up with an answer.

Marlene is part of quiz

8


BOOKS & RECORDS TO CO NSIDER^)

GLAD RAG DOLL - Diana KrallVerve 001719102

In the interests of full disclosure, as they say on news programs, we have to admit a penchant for Diana Krall. It’s not her voice but her piano playing abilities and her style. There are better voices, but none

with full involvement in the music as Diana Krall. She even used an 1890’s Steinway upright piano for this recording and replaced her trio with new players often playing instruments reminiscent of the 1920’s such as ukulele, banjo and dobro. Instead of digital recording, the performances were mastered on analog tape. This album of music from the Prohibition Era is a departure from her usual American Songbook material backed by a string section. It is a reflection of Diana Krall’s wide ranging interest in music. She calls it “A song and dance record.”

An illustration of Diana Krall ’ s musical involvement is her early exposure to her dad’s collection of 78s. She was so interested in music development she visited the archives of bandleader Paul Whiteman at age 16, not to research Whiteman but to steep herself in the complex arrangements for the band and for cornetist Bix Beiderbecke. “I got chills,” she said.

There is a total of thirteen tracks on the album with GLAD RAG DOLL, the title song, first recorded in 1928 by vaudeville bandleader, singer and sometimes clarinet player Ted Lewis. Other tracks, most with titles unfamiliar to current generations and often difficult to recall for the oldest music fan, include songs originally recorded by Gene Austin, Cliff Edwards, early Bing Crosby and Annette Hanshaw. Two tracks are a departure from the ‘20s and early ‘30s theme. There is a rock beat to the 1961 rockabilly single I’M A LITTLE MIXED UP, and a different approach to Ray Charles’ LONELY AVENUE from 1956, both inserted by the producer of the al bum, T Bone Burnett for reasons lost to most listeners.

Diana Krall likes what she does and puts everything she has into it, perhaps hoping to expand our musical outlook. It is this sincerity and musical fervor that makes this unusual album well worth checking out.

RADIO MY WAY Ron Della Chiesa

10 MY WAY.RON D E L I A CHIESA

wilN trie* f*r«Mtk

This is a book written by a legendary New England broadcaster who evaluates the music he plays on the radio, unlike so many announcers who simply play the music that’s either highly rated in the trades or based on current musical trends. Ron, who has become known as “ Mr. Music

_ _ _ _ _ . , Am erica” is notTbOH©!' Amazon .com only a radio an

nouncer (DJ in the common term) but an accomplished musicologist. The result is he’s keeping the real music alive. His numerous insightful interviews and careful music selection result in this journey into what’s described as a melting pot of the kind of music that’s worthy of remembering, and more important, broadcasting.

Mostly biographical, in the first few chapters you will learn from his background how why and how the love of a variety of music has made him the special broadcaster he is. There are interviews with personalities including Rosemary Clooney, Buddy Rich, Stan Getz, Mel Torme, Tony Bennett and Andre Previn among other leaders and composers. Along the way you leant how Ron has become the radio personality he is.

Available at Amazon.com

Big Band Jump Newsletter StaffEditor Hagen WilliamsAsst. Editor Ann BurrellCompositor Herb GershonResearch Ethel SadlerProduction Robert Tennent

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Q U IC K IE REPORTS

Harry Connick, Jr. will host a TV show that pays tribute to the music of Louisiana, his home state. The show is scheduled to be seen in Louisiana in December and nationwide on PBS next year.

Teddi Thurman, the weather voice of the N BC weekend MON ITOR radio program, died 17 September, 2012

■ m ̂'A at age 89. She was the one who hourly reported temperatures and sky condi- tions (Atlanta, 40 degrees and cloudy)

to the accompaniment of soft music.

On September 21,2012 European regulators approved, with some restrictions, Universal Music’s 1.9 billion dollar takeover of EMI Music. Universal is the world’s largest music company.

Dorothy McGuire (on the right) died September 7th, 2012 at her home in Paradise Valley, Arizona. She was 84. Their trio was a hit of the ‘50s.

Trombonist Eddie Bert, who played with Hampton, Goodman, Basie and Barnet among others, died at age 90 September 28th.His career spanned six decades.

Then came the top forty p r o g r a m ming idea. Announcers no longer p e rso n a lly selected the music because the re- c o r d i n g s were simply the top-selling forty recordings at

that moment, played over and over and over again, while announcers glibly inserted canned comments: "The music you like from your pal Mike," followed by the station call letters fashioned into a clever jingle. (That was when stations still used their call letters prior to such station indentification as "96 Rock," for example.

The individual touch...the personal touch...was rapidly fading away. The music was selected from a chart listing the biggest selling recordings of the day, or in later incarnations of this sterile format, by a single program director to be inserted into a "playlist" that had to be adhered to no matter which announcer was on the air. With the proliferation of hundreds of radio stations under a single corporate control, the "playlist" has become even more invasive, affecting not one but dozens, perhaps scores of radio stations in different cities all sounding the same. Even individual stations put their own "playlist" on a computer where it remains untouched by human hands.

C O M M E N TA R Y BY HAGEN W ILLIA M S TH E IM P E R S O N A LIZA TIO N OF RADIO

It happened sometime in the fifties when rock n'roll took over the airwaves. Radio stations up until then were, for the most part, programmed by the announcerwho was on the air. The music he played was selected by him, the comments he made were his view of the music or whatever subject he wanted to talk about. The management of the station didn't really care what the man on the microphone said as long as his listening audience numbers were maintained. An announcer was personally responsible for his own program.

No wonder talk radio is so popular. It's the only kind of radio with some personal connection between the listener and the announcer. And even then a single talk radio host is often duplicated hundreds of times in ■cities and villages across the nation. He or she may be talking to you but they're also talking to millions of others on hundreds of radio stations all sounding precisely the same.

It ain't the same and we as a listening audience, a culture and as human beings, are worse off because of this extreme impersonalization.


UPCOMING BIG BAND JUMP PROGRAM TITLES

October 27-28, 2012 Billboard Mag- JUKE BOX INSTRU- azine, as you MENTALS know, has for

years charted the sales of recordings, giving us a look into the commercial viability of a particular selection, especially in the days of the single 78 or 45. Combining those charts with jukebox plays has resulted in a list of the most popular instrumentals over the years since 1940. As mentioned repeatedly here, the instrumental is now nearly extinct in the light of the proliferation of vocalists followed by vastly different kinds of music, all depending on the leader shouting into a microphone. That aside, there WERE some popular instrumentals that fit into BBJ. We take advantage of that purely commercial survey to

BBJ HOST DON KENNEDY

November 17-18, 2012 Quite a few o f the THE ‘H’ FILE I artists fitting into our

category o f G reat American Music land in the ‘H’ file making it necessary to use two programs to accommodate the file. Many ofthe reliable favorites are there, of course: Haymes, Herman and Holiday, but so many new names have been added since the last visit...some we barely touched upon in past programs. We look forward to this week’s program and next w eek’s, too, because of the rich treasure of performers

and performances awaiting us.

November 24-25, 2012 Time does zip byTHE ‘H’ FILE II quicklyand, as previ

ously noted, it’s been a while since we re-visited the alphabetical files. When we checked back to see which files have been ne-select some of the instrumentals that have emerged

since 1940 when the survey began, fully realizing the 8'eCted’ We re-dlscovered n<* °" 'y the rich supply of accountant-style approach leaves out some important exPected art,sts’both vocal and instrumental, but some recordings. We stress then, that the survey is based on We’Ve "ot ,ncluded in past alPhabetical BBJs. Connie the broad general popularity and sales of a recording, thus does not always reflect artistic quality or pure artistry. For our purpose, best-selling country & western recordings have vocal groups doo doo dooing or laa laa laa-ing it, but the voices in those instances are being used as instruments. «

Haines, Gene Harris and Earl Hines have not been ignored in the past, but are given greater exposure here.

November 3-4, 2012 THE ‘R’ FILE

V”When we re-visit the CD, LP and other recorded files as sembled alphabetically by

artist’s names, we discover emerging performers who are true to American musical standards, artists who are dedicated to keeping those standards in front of the public. The newer performances are combined with what are often legendary recordings by equally well- known singers and instrumentalists.

S?

November 10-11, 2012 THE E-F’ FILE

We realized we haven’t supplied you with a fresh look at many of the alphabetically

programmed BBJs, so we’re taking advantage ofthe end of the year to play catch-up. This program reaches out to some of the new members of the ‘E-F’ file without ignoring the time-tested folks in that file. This combination of old and new in the updated file, the beneficiary of considerable research, results in a fresh program. Connie Haines ofthe ‘H’ file

December 1-2, 2012 THE ‘I-J’ FILEThis is a strange program, for the combination of those two infrequently used letters for performer’s names concentrates mostly on the ‘Js,’ and within that file I ie only a few arti sts with recordings that have found their way into the list of must-plays over the years. The most famous and repeatable members of the combined file are the Ink Spotsand Harry James, but Gordon Jenkins, Herb Jeffries and Jobim are also there allowing us to give the program not only familiarity but variety.

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December 8-9, 2012 The rich treasure ofMUSIC FOR THE TROOPS V-Discs is the source

for this program. They were twelve inch 78 RPM recordings made under the auspices of the government for the entertainment of the troops overseas. The performances on these unique recordings are often spontaneous, for they were made especially for entertainment purposes with no commercial concerns. Often the artists greeted the troops; certainly the mood was informal. The extended length of the twelve inch recordings allowed Big Bands to perform extended versions of their more popular commercial recordings without concerns for technical musical perfection, allowing the band to stretch out what would commercially be a more sterile version. The enthusiasm of the musicians and singers also created originals never commercially released. None of the V- Discs were heard by civilians until years later. This program offers some of those rare V-Discs and the stories behind their creation.

December 15-16, 2012 There are enough key artists THE ‘K’ FILE in this file to create two or

more programs in the Big Band mode, for Kenton, Krupa and Kyser are there, but so are Krall, Kallen and the King Sisters. We’ll combine those artists, hoping to present not only the highly familiar recordings of the most famous but reach a bit deeper to sample some tunes you may not have heard before. The spice for the hour will be provided by the singers and a few visits from lesser-known but not lesser- appreciated artists such as John Kirby and Anita Kerr.

December 22-23, 2012 This is a re-SM ALL TOWN CHRISTMAS peat program

from last yearin response to so many listeners who asked to hear it again. The program describes events in a small town at Christmas, concentrating on the people involved in those events. You may recognize your town, or even your big city neighborhood in the word pictures woven through the traditional music of the holiday. We’ve often been asked to present this program again, and because of the specialized holiday content it is appropriate at this time, mixing traditional Christmas music and memories.

December 29-30, 2012 WW11 was over just a few NEW YEAR’S 1946 months earlier, the mood

of the nation was decidedly

upbeat, for the troops were coming home. We didn’t know it yet, but the Big Band Era was rapidly disappearing into a fog of vocalists and eventually a series of musical styles all characterized with a strong beat. It’s our good fortune that the Armed Forces Radio Service has preserved this heroic radio program switching around the nation to capture the top orchestras of the time playing their current top titles. BBJ has offered this program before, but a new copy of this sixty-eight year old celebration has improved the quality of this musical remembrance.Technical quality aside, this is one of those ‘time-machine’ programs capturing the mood of an era and a culture long past, playing their current top titles. BBJ has offered this program before, but a new copy of this sixty-eight year old celebration has improved the quality of this musical remembrance. Technical quality aside, this is one of those ‘time-machine’ programs capturing the mood of an era and a culture long past.

January 5-6, 2013 In our continuing effort to THE ‘M’ FILE I catch up on our neglected al

phabetical programming, we take a fresh look at the artists whose names begin with the letter ‘M.’ It is the most voluminous file in our library and as such requires at least two programs to cover, especially since the all-time favorite Big Band is an ‘M.’ There will be some Glenn Miller, of course, but some of the other ‘ Ms” will appear in this week’s prevue including Mancini, Martin and Mercer. There will be others, but we’ll be splitting the file into two parts, possibly un-even depending on the specific taste of you, as an individual listener. It’s our hope we’re able to fully entertain with both ‘M’ file programs. * 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

TRIVIA QUIZ ANSWERS1- B Peggy King has retired in Philadelphia.2- C Marlene VerPlanck lives in New Jersey.3- D Tommy LiPuma was a barber in Cleveland before he entered the record business.4- D Benny Carter was so respected by his fellow musicians he was known as “The King.”5- B Ernie Wilkins performed in Denmark during his final years.6- A Fletcher Henderson was born in Cuthbert, Georgia and is buried there.7- C Butch Miles was born in West Virginia and inducted into that state’s Hall of Fame.8- C Louis Tobin, who sang with Benny Goodman for a time, was Harry James’ first wife.9- B Former singer with the Miller Orchestra left to finish college and returned as leader of the official Miller Band.10- D Sonny Burke encouraged establishment of the National Association of Recording Artists leading to awards of Emmys each year.

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